Pope Benedict stood before a crowd of tens of thousands of Britons this morning and lauded their forebears who had died resisting his fellow Germans and the "evil ideology" of nazism.

He was speaking at a mass in Cofton Park, Birmingham, which included the beatification of one of his intellectual heroes, the 19th-century Roman Catholic convert, Cardinal John Henry Newman.

The pope, who was once a member of the Hitler Youth, began by noting that today was the day chosen to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

"For me, as one who lived and suffered through the dark days of the Nazi regime in Germany, it is deeply moving to be here with you on this occasion, and to recall how many of your fellow citizens sacrificed their lives courageously resisting the forces of that evil ideology," he said.

He went on: "My thoughts go in particular to nearby Coventry, which suffered such heavy bombardment and massive loss of life in November 1940."

Benedict was conscripted into the German armed forces at the end of the second world war and was put in an anti-aircraft unit. He deserted. The extent to which his involvement with the Hitler Youth was obligatory or voluntary has never been fully resolved. But there is no doubt about Benedict's postwar recognition of the evil of nazism, which has conditioned his thinking ever since.

Newman became a central figure in his intellectual development while he was still studying for the priesthood. In particular, he has since written, he and his fellow seminarians were impressed by Newman's insistence on the supreme importance of conscience as a moral guide - a potent message in stricken, late-1940s Germany.

Benedict said the gathering was to "give glory and praise to God for the heroic virtue of a saintly Englishman". It was not the only indication the pope thought Newman was deserving of eventual canonisation.

"He is worthy to take his place in a long line of saints and scholars from these islands," he said before comparing the Victorian cleric to some of Britain's greatest religious intellectuals, including St Bede and the Blessed Duns Scotus.

The Vatican requires evidence of at least two miracles before canonisation. But so far only one has been ascribed to Newman, the cure of an American deacon.

Jack Sullivan, from Massachusetts, who was expected to take part in the celebration of the service and read the Gospel, had been suffering from a spinal disorder. It disappeared after he prayed for the late cardinal's intercession. But some medical experts have argued that his recovery was perfectly normal.

Controversy had also surrounded the liturgy for today's mass. At the Vatican's behest, the canon - the most solemn part of the service - was in Latin, a reflection of the pope's enthusiasm for its reintroduction.

Today's was an historic occasion because no beatification has ever before taken place on British soil. The service was also a first for Benedict. Since his election in 2005, he has presided over several canonisations, but has always previously delegated beatifications.

His decision to make an exception for Newman certainly demonstrates his reverence for the poet-priest. But it was sensitive because of the Englishman's conversion from the Church of England.

Anglicans have by and large accepted the Vatican's view that the two denominations' shared claim to Newman will help rather than hinder the stalled process of attempted reunification. But it comes at a delicate moment, when thousands of traditionalist Anglicans are considering whether to take advantage of the pope's offer to become Catholics while retaining their traditions and liturgy.